Oh, me, oh, my. So seeing as I really did just read this book in less time than a day again (though not as fast as a Gayle Foreman, Alexandra Harvey, Rowling, etc) I definitely think this needs reviewing pretty much on the spot. I really want to be able to give this book five stars, because it is a truly, adorably, fabulous little book *but* (and I want to start with these to knock them out of the way as possible), this is a niche book and it gets it down a level for me.

Especially because you will not find the following in the pages of the book listed --

1. Advice and commentary on either being/or looking to date in the LGBTQIAAP realm. (For those of you not in the wide sexology referencing know, these stand for 'lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, allies, and panseuxal' and that's only the beginning of the alphabet soup). But you won't find except one sneeze of a reference titled 'I think my dates a guy...' and it's not framed positively, but it is tiny.

2. Nor will you find advice for the Geek Girl looking to date. Or the Geek Boy and what he should do with having stumbled on to the rampantly more obvious in the day and age Geek Girl, and how to date her.

I was disappointed on both counts, because I was enamored and in love with the cover from first glance, and wanted to find things I identified with in here. Which happens to be in both of those boxes, as well as several pieces of what I found in the book. This book is very specifically for the (White) Awkward (Straight) Male Geek toward the Modern (Likely Not Geeky) Woman. (Maybe even specifically the one born in the eighties and raised in the ninty's).


BUT WAIT. Don't turn away now!


It *is* a niche book, but it's an amazing book for being a niche book!

I spent this entire book smiling, shaking my head in fondness, cackling at all the references I caught everywhere and laughing at how ingeniously the whole thing was framed to be given to heteronormative boys/men. There are so many references to movies, tv shows, games, books, comics, that you are almost drowning in them. But it's the perfect kind of drowning where you don't want to come up.

The Player One title the whole way through and the no-nonsense approach to all of it is killer. From how to befriend, to how to ask, to how to deal with marriage and/or break-ups. I'm going to be picking up a handful of copies for people at Christmas, don't you doubt me. ( )

I didn't read beyond the cover, so I was unsure as to what to expect. For some reason I thought this would be a fictional book, but to my surprise (because I clearly don't read descriptions!) it truly was a dating guide. It was definitely fun to listen to the audiobook version because the narrator had great inflection and helped make it more fun. This guide is actually filled with pretty solid advice (it is geared solely to males, but you can get a general idea on most sections as to what applies to the ladies) and is very punny. Eric Smith has it loaded with references from every fandom, video game, and pop culture hamlet you can think of. He often uses common scenarios found in pop culture to illustrate certain points or to point out what is super unrealistic in what to expect in a relationship. Very funny and creative way to frame a dating book. ( )

I have not truly amazingly had the luck to actually date many fellow nerds in my life. This isn’t to say I haven’t dated, jut I haven’t dated many nerds. The people who I consider my own. The comic fans, the wrestling fans, the sci-fi fans, the video gamers… now I have been with those people, but generally more than not I’ve been with people who actually were not on the same wave length as me. Not from lack of knowing where to find them, ask them out or any of that. Just the luck of the draw here.

Still I know there are plenty guys out there who can’t even get to that first step or even if they do, what to do next and after that or even after that. When you grow up watching Thundercats, playing Super Mario and reading Booster Gold while rolling dice for a D & D game and discussing the merits of Ric Flair over Roddy Piper on the phone with your friend whose thinking about his acne and multiple allergies, how to go out with the opposite or even same sex is gong to be an art you never really learn.

That’s where THE GEEK’S GUIDE TO DATING by Eric Smith comes into play or at least that how’d I’d sell it if I was a marketing person. Oh wait, I am… but that’s not where I’m coming from in this review.

I’ll admit even I might not be nerdy enough for this book. Some references were completely and totally lost on me. I’ve never been into Firefly, I’m not a big Link fan, I don’t know HALO from a brick in the wall… but I somehow still know what Eric was going for with each reference so it was never completely lost on me.

In many ways this isn’t just a geek’s guide to dating, but a clever voice in just basic logic of dating, understanding the ways and what fors of finding it, going on it and what to do after said date. These are tips that can be used by anyone in our modern social media driven world of Facebook, twitter, Foursquare and more. It’s just painted to attract an audience that would not necessarily go for it while being open enough for a non geek to at least see the the great cover and start skimming to see what it contains, notice how concise the advice is and just be “Huh, I could use this”.

One other great aspect that is a huge selling point to me is the cool Kickpixel pieces. I can’t really say anything about them, they just look awesome especially since I love 8 bit art even if I don’t like 8 bit games. Just look at this piece and if you don’t love it…I don’t know you. Even if you hate it, you still need this book. Actually if you hate it, you need this book more than anyone cause boy oh boy do you need some social tips. ( )

This was perfect! I read it as a woman, and still found it incredibly useful. Good dating tips for all genders, all dating situations. Also, it's so chalked full of nerd references, and every time I got one of them, I did a little victory dance.

Loved this! ( )

I think this book must have been written on a dare. Eric Smith was sitting around with some single friends one night and they dared him to write a book with as many geek-culture references as possible. He said no problem, and that when *with a twinkle in his eye* one of the friends said, "...on dating."

What came out was a hilarious look at dating with as many references to video games, Doctor Who, Firefly, and Star Trek as possible. In full color this is the kind of book you can pick up, open to any spot and amuse yourself for 10-20 minutes perusing. While not a real good place to get advice on dating (then again I am a married female, so not exactly the target audience,) it's fun and kitschy, and would probably make a good novelty gift for the right kind of friend. ( )